Okay, maybe I’m getting mixed messages here. New York Comic Con 2020 is not going ahead in its physical form (yadda yadda COVID-19, blah blah global pandemic, etc etc fear death and misery, yadda yadda) but ReedPOP have moved the whole she-bang into the virtual realm, under the umbrella of Metaverse, being streamed during the dates of the physical event – Thursday 8th-Sunday 11th October 2020.
And yet, the popular press and news coverage is proclaiming panel announcements as taking place at ‘New York Comic Con’… not Metaverse. Guessing that fresh, sparkly new branding is not latching on as well as maybe ReedPOP is hoping. Still, however eyeballs get planted on the content, right?
And speaking of content, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment have revealed that they will be bringing three spotlight streams to New Yo… sorry, Metaverse, in just a few weeks time: the interactive animated short BATMAN: DEATH IN THE FAMILY, the newly remastered Blu-Ray release of THE FLINTSTONES: THE COMPLETE SERIES and the timed-perfectly-for-the-season HAPPY HALLOWEEN, SCOOBY-DOO! That last panel? The first time that all four cast members of the new incarnation of Mystery Inc. – Frank Welker (Fred & Scooby-Doo), Grey Griffin (Daphne), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy) and Kate Micucci (Velma) – will have appeared together in one… erm, Zoom call. Zoinks!
These Warner Bros. Home Entertainment panels will feature never-before-seen footage, and discussions with filmmakers and showrunners, artists and actors. All three panels will belive-streamed through NYCC’s partnership with YouTube, and specific panel links will be found via the NYCC website at www.newyorkcomiccon.com. Or www.findthemetaverse.com, perhaps. Whatever your poison, right?
WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT BRINGS BATMAN: DEATH IN THE FAMILY, THE FLINTSTONES: THE COMPLETE SERIES AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN, SCOOBY-DOO! TO NEW YORK COMIC CON 2020
THE MYSTERY INC. QUARTET OF FRANK WELKER, GREY GRIFFIN, MATTHEW LILLARD & KATE MICUCCI APPEARING TOGETHER FOR FIRST CON EVER
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) presents three engaging panels – spotlighting the landmark interactive animated short BATMAN: DEATH IN THE FAMILY, THE FLINTSTONE: THE COMPLETE SERIES remastered for Blu-ray, and the all-new HAPPY HALLOWEEN, SCOOBY-DOO! – to New York Comic Con for the annual event’s new virtual streaming edition October 8-11, 2020.
The HAPPY HALLOWEEN, SCOOBY-DOO! presentation will be the first-ever Con appearance featuring all four core voices of Mystery Inc. together on the same panel: Frank Welker (Fred & Scooby-Doo), Grey Griffin (Daphne), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy) and Kate Micucci (Velma).
WBHE panels will spotlight never-before-seen footage, discussions with filmmakers, and showrunners, artists and actors. All three panels will be live-streamed through NYCC’s partnership with YouTube, and specific panel links will be found via the NYCC website at www.newyorkcomiccon.com.
Here’s a breakdown of the panels – and confirmed talent – appearing at New York Comic Con:
- Saturday, October 10 1:15pm PT/4:15pm ET – BATMAN: DEATH IN THE FAMILY – AN INTERACTIVE TALE
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment unveils its first-ever interactive film presentation with Batman: Death in the Family in a fascinating New York Comic Con panel. As the anchor of an anthology of 2019-2020 animated shorts, Batman: Death in the Family is based on the 1988 landmark DC event where fans voted by telephone to determine the story’s ending, and is organically grown out of the 2010 DC Universe Movie, Batman: Under the Red Hood. In this new version, the animated short is an interactive storytelling presentation with numerous “branches,” allowing the viewer multiple options from which to choose and alter the path of the core characters (Batman, Robin, Joker, Red Hood and more). Join producer/director/writer Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood, Young Justice), actors Bruce Greenwood (The Resident, Star Trek, iRobot), Vincent Martella (Phineas and Ferb, Everybody Hates Chris) and Zehra Fazal (Young Justice), and moderator Tiffany Smith (DC Daily) for an in-depth panel discussion about this innovative film. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, DC Showcase – Batman: Death in the Family arrives from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital starting October 13.
- Sunday, October 11 8:40am PT/11:40am ET – HAPPY HALLOWEEN, SCOOBY-DOO!
Be part of the first-ever convention panel to feature the four core voices of the Scooby-Doo franchise as they chat about their all-new film, Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! – and then show you the first eight minutes of the movie! Scooby-Doo and Shaggy’s favorite holiday is upon us! With fake monsters and candy galore, Halloween is heaven for these hungry foodies going door-to-door. But this year, their sweet holiday turns sour when the neighborhood pumpkin patch is infected by toxic ooze, creating high-flying jack-o-lanterns, and a king-sized pumpkin leader squashing everything in its path. It’s up to Scooby-Doo and the gang as they team up with their pals, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Bill Nye the Science Guy, to solve this mystery of gigantic proportions and save Crystal Cove!
Enjoy a fun panel discussion amongst voiceover legend Frank Welker (The Transformers), in his 50th year voicing Fred Jones and 18th year voicing Scooby-Doo; Grey Griffin (DC Super Hero Girls films) in her 20th year as Daphne Blake; Matthew Lillard (Twin Peaks, Bosch, Good Girls) celebrating his 18th year as Shaggy Rogers; Kate Micucci (Unikitty!) in her fifth year as Velma Dinkley; Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), director/producer/writer Maxwell Atoms (Fish Hooks, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) and moderator Damian Holbrook (TV Guide Magazine senior writer). Then stay for a special sneak peek at the first eight minutes of the film. Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! arrives on DVD and Digital HD starting October 6.
- Sunday, October 11 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET – THE FLINTSTONES TAKE NEW YORK!
Celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first animated family of primetime television – The Flintstones – with an entertaining panel at New York Comic Con. Join panelists director/producer Tony Cervone (SCOOB!, The Flintstones and WWE: Stone Age Smackdown!); actors Jeff Bergman (Our Cartoon President, Looney Tunes Cartoons), Grey Griffin (DC Super Hero Girls, Scooby-Doo franchise) and Eric Bauza (Looney Tunes Cartoons, UniKitty!), the voices of Fred Flintstone, Betty Rubble and Bam-Bam & Dino, respectively; animation historian & author Jerry Beck and moderator Yvette Nicole Brown (Community, Avengers: Endgame) as they discuss the landmark series, which has been fully-remastered for Blu-ray release by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The collectible box set includes all 166 episodes and two Flintstones feature-length animated films. The Flintstones: The Complete Series will be available to own on Digital HD starting October 6, and on Blu-ray on October 27.